The US, the UN and Genetic Engineering

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that with no labeling on such foods, many people don't realize that they are doing just that. Genetically modified crops constitute 93 percent of soy, 86 percent of corn and 93 percent of canola seeds planted in the U.S. and are used in about 70 percent of American processed food.

The Tribune went on to say that polls from the Pew Center, Consumers Union and Harris Interactive over the past decade have shown that the overwhelming majority of Americans would like to see genetically modified foods better-regulated and -labeled. Despite that, President Barack Obama's administration has approved an "unprecedented number of genetically modified crops," such as corn grown for ethanol.

The U.S. government is not the only entity boosting and greenlighting genetic engineering of our crops and foods. In 1963, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization adopted the Codex Alimentarius, the food code created by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, whose self-proclaimed mission was to protect health, remove trade obstacles and establish food guidelines. The commission now has 185 members, including the U.S.

Hundreds of guidelines have been adopted by the CAC, in areas ranging from additives to pesticides to, most recently, vitamin and mineral supplements. And this year, it is tackling the issue of whether to label genetically altered and engineered fruits and vegetables.

According to the Alliance for Natural Health, the natural health community has expressed concern about the CAC's guidelines regarding supplements because of parts of the Codex's preamble that "essentially discount the benefits from dietary supplements, and the fact that the scope of the Codex Guidelines includes developing minimum and maximum levels of vitamins and minerals."

Though regulating those maximum levels is prohibited by U.S. policy -- because dietary supplements are not categorized as drugs -- it is one more sign that global governance of our foods is right around the corner. As if American households relinquishing their health and fitness habits to Washington weren't enough, now the entire U.S. needs to be governed by a global food and drug administration?